No-one can doubt Christopher Nolan’s commitment to the theatrical experience — but can the release of “Tenet” be judged a success? Helen Budge examines the facts.
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US, has Warner Bros.’ gamble paid off? And has the film that so much was pinned on done enough to convince Studios to remove the massive bung in Hollywood’s content pipeline?
The long road to the big screen N THE PAST FEW MONTHS, there’s
CV19 made “Tenet”’s journey to its theatrical release a tortuous
been only one word on the lips of those
one. Originally scheduled for 17 July, it was rescheduled three
in cinema exhibition — even more than
times and was, at one point, taken off the release schedule
“closures” (and associated expletives).
entirely. But Warner Bros.’ (WB) determination to find the right
The word is “Tenet”, Christoper Nolan’s
time and strategy to release it prevailed. Ann Sarnoff, WB’s.
time-warping espionage blockbuster
CEO and chair (and recently appointed head of WarnerMedia’s
starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. Shot
Studios and Networks Group), is clear in her view that the
predominantly on IMAX cameras, the sweeping cinematic
strategy wasn’t a “leave it to chance” approach. She
landscapes and plentiful action sequences show exactly why
commented to “Deadline”: “We’ve been analysing numbers
this film was always intended for the big screen. But after its
and consumer behaviour, so we’ve been studying this since
staggered release, initially internationally then followed by the
Covid began. We crunched the numbers and figured out a
www.cinematech.today
27/09/2020 10:48
